What is a golden goal?
Golden goal meant the first goal in extra time won the game, there and then. It was used in major tournaments in the 1990s and early 2000s, then dropped. Here's how it worked, the silver goal that replaced it, and why it's still great in a friends' game.
By Squadcard. Last updated .
In short
- Golden goal: in extra time, the first team to score wins immediately.
- Major tournaments used it in the 1990s and early 2000s, including the European Championship.
- The silver goal, used for a short time after, gave the win to a team leading at the end of the first half of extra time.
- The IFAB removed the golden goal from the Laws in 2004, and both rules went.
- Today's Laws allow extra time, away goals or penalties to settle a drawn game.
How it worked
A knockout game level after 90 minutes went to extra time. Under golden goal, the first goal ended the game straight away, and the scoring team won. If nobody scored in extra time, penalties decided it.
The idea was to make extra time more attacking. In practice many teams got more careful, since conceding meant instant defeat.
The silver goal
UEFA brought in the silver goal for the 2002-03 season as a softer version: a team leading at the end of the first 15-minute half of extra time won, and if it was level, the second half was played. It didn't last either.
Why it went
The IFAB, which writes the Laws of the Game, removed the golden goal from the approved ways to decide a match in 2004, and UEFA dropped both the golden and silver goal after that summer's European Championship. Today, when a winner is needed after a draw, the Laws allow only extra time, the away goals rule or penalties.
Golden goal in your own games
In a friends' game it's perfect: "next goal wins" is just golden goal by another name, and it ends a game cleanly when the pitch booking runs out. In a tournament it saves time over full extra time: agree it for drawn knockout games when you send round the tournament schedule, or settle them with penalties. How extra time works today is in how long is a football match.
Questions
What is the golden goal rule?
In extra time, the first team to score wins the game immediately.
Is golden goal still used?
Not in competitions played under the Laws of the Game: the IFAB removed it in 2004. Friends' games use it all the time as "next goal wins".
What is a silver goal?
A rule UEFA used from 2002-03: the team leading at the end of the first half of extra time won. It was dropped in 2004 with the golden goal.
What replaced the golden goal?
Full extra time of two halves, then penalties, which is how drawn knockout games are settled today.